Satellite images unlocks extent of logging

Australian anti-logging groups are using Google Earth to show
the impact of forest clearing.

At least two groups - the Tasmanian arm of The Wilderness
Society and the Victorian Rainforest Network (VRN) - have created
Google Earth "overlays", which can be downloaded from their
websites.

An overlay adds a layer on top of the basic Google Earth
satellite map, and can be used in this case to add specific
information about logging campaigns beside the relevant
geographical area.

The Wilderness
Society's overlay provides details on Forestry Tasmania's
logging plans for the coming year based on information publicly
available on its website, says Vica Bayley, a forest campaigner
with The Wilderness Society.

These details include the outline of logging zones, as well as
pop-up text boxes that provide further information and images on
individual logging areas.

Mr Bayley said Google Earth allowed the group to more
effectively convey the impact of logging, which had been difficult
to do previously as many Tasmanian forest areas were closed off to
the public.

"For those people who don't go out to the forest a lot, it
basically unlocks the gates," he said.

"Many of these areas are hidden in more remote catchments where
people can't get in, can't get a look, and can't see for themselves
what's going on."

Paul Oosting, a spokesman for The Wilderness Society, added in a
statement: "These images highlight the close proximity of logging
operations to the Tasmanian wilderness World Heritage area."

While The Wilderness Society has a national presence, its Google
Earth campaign is limited to Tasmania.

This is because other states "don't have a government
department, such as our Forestry Tasmania, that produces maps and
plans of exactly what they're going to clear", Mr Bayley said.

He said logging in NSW was "not as forwardly planned as it is
here in Tasmania", so there wasn't sufficient data available for a
NSW overlay.

In Queensland, it was mainly "rogue landowners that are
clearing", which also meant data on proposed logging plans was
sparse.

But the VRN has managed to acquire sufficient information for a
Victorian
overlay, and provides similar information to the Tasmanian
version, including past and future logging plans, and how close
these are to national parks and water catchments.

"Logging is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases and
climate change in Tasmania - more than the entire transport
sector," Mr Bayley said.

"Not only are you destroying huge and globally important carbon
sinks [the trees], but you're actually releasing vast, vast amounts
of that stored carbon back into the atmosphere through huge
forestry burns in autumn, [and] through broad-scale
woodchipping."